Sizing and Analysis of a Tilt-Wing Aircraft with All-Electric and Hybrid-Electric Propulsion Systems

Abstract

This paper demonstrates integrated vehicle and propulsion system sizing and performance analysis for a vertical takeoff and landing tilt-wing Urban Air Mobility aircraft family with two variants. The first variant features an all-electric propulsion system architecture while the second variant features a hybrid-electric architecture in which turbo-generators are used in lieu of batteries to supply cruise power requirements, offset battery power draw in vertical flight, and recharge the batteries. Both variants are sized for a representative Urban Air Mobility mission profile while considering varying battery technology levels and trip distances. The aircraft are sized and analyzed using Parametric Energy-based Aircraft Configuration Evaluator, an aircraft sizing framework integrating discipline analyses for aerodynamics, propulsion, and weight estimation with parametric geometry definition, re-sizing, and energy-based mission performance analyses.